Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica LaRose.
Erica, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ll start with my first moment on stage… the moment I knew I wanted to be an actor. Putting my mind in another character’s circumstances is where my imagination thrived. As a more introverted child, it was a scary yet amazing feeling. I didn’t really get to experience that moment fully again until many years later, when my mother introduced me to a producer, Michael Lombardi, who hired me for my first role in film. This had such a big impact on my life it led to me making the move to LA.
I loved being in the city of angels. I quickly signed up for acting classes at Playhouse West which was a wonderful experience. Not so much later in the summer of 2011, I started to write screenplays. Putting together storylines and arcs was sensational. My first short film was read through LA collective “We Make Movies.” My intention for the film was so visceral that my lack of experience didn’t even frighten me in that moment… yet ironically now I look back and I am nervous for my old self. A bizarre feeling really but in a good way.
Fast forward to 2014, I decided to make a bold move and move to Brooklyn with almost no hesitation. I was in complete denial when it came time to jump on the plane- what was I doing? Yet I arrived and went straight back into acting classes and immediately connected with like-minded people. There in NYC, I further explored myself as an actor and creator. The motive to move across the country was to facilitate inspiration through a new environment. Something was missing. And that the big apple gave that to me.
During my time back east, I co-hosted a radio show for a year out of BBOX radio in Dumbo, Brooklyn alongside Thomas Bellezza. That was a tremendous experience where I was able to have some improvisational fun while focusing on themes of business entertainment. I was simultaneously writing monologues and performing them at an underground bar called the Love Craft. I wrote about six different pieces through the eyes of one character “Rose” with a short poetic video on her to follow. This was and still is the beginning of a special project for me.
Later and still in NYC, I produced and acted in my friend’s rehearsed staged reading of his feature comedy film. And finally was able to create from start to finish my first narrative short “165 STARR” alongside Thomas Moore (writer, director.) It was really dreamlike as I look back. I got to fully experience that “let’s get it done” part of me while bringing my own and other’s ideas to life.
I do feel I am your textbook Gemini. There are two very different sides to me. I love to act, go deep, and bring myself to a character. I also love to creatively problem solve when making ideas come to life. When I am asked to help with a project that resonates- I am committed and dedicated. I’m truly humbled to see my own ideas come to life and honored to help others. To come full circle, I did move back to LA in 2019 and am grateful to continue my journey here in spite of these challenging times.
Has it been a smooth road?
This is the ultimate perspective question for me. I think that struggles are the way to a smooth road. As much as people believe in luck, I don’t. I believe in the idea that you get what you put in and it comes back around in surprising ways. When something exciting happens for someone, I don’t believe it is ever a coincidence. Through my lens, opportunities are usually a mirror of the energy the person has put out into their world and universe.
To summarize, I think the magic happens in the middle of struggle and smooth. I’d say relying on luck or the extreme of that eliminates all the unexpected in between. Successful creativity is an enigma never to be solved in my opinion- for me, persistence, resilience, and willingness to evolve is what creative success thrives on. And as long as that is based in truth and honesty, it’s all worth it.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
As an actress, my business is to bring to life a multi-faceted character to move the story along. As a producer, I believe one of my specialties is to use my instincts to bring people together to fill different roles. It is in my nature to read people’s personalities and put them together.
I am most proud to say that if I have an idea – I like to get it done despite any reservations. Where there is a will there’s a way and I let that guide me. I also thrive off of people telling me I can’t do something. I like to turn negatives into a positive. It is far easier to think negatively about everything. We can sit in our home and be victims or we can get up and take risks. Work wouldn’t be work if it was easy.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least about our city?
I love that the city is a hub for entertainment and that everyone expects that. Being in a place that has so much history in film is inspiring and intoxicating. Also, the nature, hiking, and ocean doesn’t hurt. Least? I’m from New England so I grew up with the seasons. I love the fall. Pumpkins, colorful leaves, and hot lattes are a few of my favorite things. I miss the seasons in LA but will not complain about the sunshine…ever.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ericalarose.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @ericalarose
Image Credit:
Joel Berti
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